Construction on the massive $92 million animal shelter next to Bay Plaza Mall in the northeast Bronx is well underway, and officials held a topping-out ceremony earlier this month.
In May 2023, workers began construction on the city-funded project, officially called the Bronx Animal Care Center. At the Aug. 15 topping-out ceremony, city officials said the facility will open as planned in 2025. The center’s structural steel foundation is nearly complete.
When completed, the center at 2060 Bartow Ave. will be 4,600 square feet and house 70 dogs, 140 cats, 30 rabbits and 20 other species. It will also offer adoption services and a low-cost veterinary clinic.
“The recent topping-out ceremony for the Animal Care Center’s Bronx location was cause for celebration,” said Shari Logan, spokeswoman for the New York City Department of Health and Sanitation. “The event further underscored our commitment to ensuring that pet families in the borough have the opportunity to adopt their four-legged friends (and other services).”
The city’s animal shelters are overseen by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and operated by the nonprofit Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC).
The facility will have covered walkways, courtyards and common areas, according to the NYC Department of Design and Construction, the agency overseeing the home’s construction. The home will also offer educational programs for children and volunteer opportunities for seniors.
The project has long been in the pipeline for Bronx Animal Shelter Endeavor (BASE), an advocacy group that has been advocating for a Bronx animal shelter for years. The group brought the need for a shelter to former Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2014.
De Blasio announced the Co-op City location in January 2018.
This year, the local Bronx Community Board 10 and former Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. spoke out against the Co-op City site, citing a lack of support from local residents.
Diaz said the city has not done enough to serve Co-op City residents and the community has long wanted to build a recreational facility at the site.
However, former City Council member Andy King, who initially opposed the site, gave the project the green light after reaching a compromise with de Blasio that promised benefits to residents such as a community center.
The city council unanimously approved the location in November 2018.
